Eyes of Puppets Strangled
by sakuuya
Summary: Happiness is a prison. Happiness is the most insidious prison of all. [KishIchigo]


**Eyes of Puppets Strangled**

Okay. Here's what we need to get out of the way before we get into this fic:

I do not support Kish/Ichigo.

However, despite that, this is a serious Kish/Ichigo story. I don't really go in for bashes, so there's no need to worry that this will degenerate into Kish-bashing or anything like that. It does, though, mean that this fic is a darker, less optimistic look at what a relationship between these two might be like than most stalwart Kish/Ichigo shippers would likely write.

Plus, I enjoy the challenge of writing pairings (and characters) that I don't particularly like.

Also, I'd like to give a shout out to FortunaStoryteller, whose "Sum absurdum in Amor: We are fools in Love" was the inspiration for this fic. It's still unfinished, but an absolutely fantastic read. Seriously. Go check it out.

_Disclaimer 1_: I own neither _Tokyo Mew Mew_ nor "This Vicious Cabaret," which belong to Rei Ishida/Mia Ikumi and D.C. Comics, respectively.

_Discalimer 2_: This story contains vague spoilers for those of you who haven't seen the whole anime, or read the whole manga. Because the climax of this story is sort of a mash up of the anime and manga, and because there's a divergence from the canon plot (i.e. Ichigo hooks up with Kish), things will not happen in precisely the same way, or for exactly the same reasons, but it's close enough that a disclaimer is in order.

* * *

_At last, the 1998 show!  
The torch-song no one ever sings!  
The curfew chorus line!  
The comedy divine!  
The bulging eyes of puppets,  
Strangled by their strings!_

-- Alan Moore, "This Vicious Cabaret"

* * *

The shop itself was disquieting, and Kish couldn't understand why. Certainly the rather run-down neighborhood it occupied had been no great bother to the alien, no more than any other human waste of their beautiful planet would be.

But this place, furnished like an old tea-house, made him uneasy. If it had not been for the battle this morning, he would never have given any thought to coming here.

o()o

_He had seen Mew Ichigo with the dark-haired boy a few times before, when he was watching her. She seemed to care for him, so Kish had figured that using the boy as a shield, and as bait, would be a perfect way to convince Tokyo Mew Mew to surrender. _

_Of course, the annoying girls were never willing to go down that easily. Not only did they manage to rescue Kish's hostage, who he'd learned was named Masaya, but the Mew Mews had taken down a good deal of his Chimera Animas and beaten Kish himself to the edge of unconsciousness._

_As Kish had fallen from the sky, lacking the energy to keep himself aloft, he had released his grip on the dark-haired boy. Both of them fell hard, but Mew Ichigo had rushed to the dark-haired boy's side making simpering noises of concern that made Kish, as he focused his energy on regaining flight and getting away, nauseous._

_He just knew that she would never care about _him_ like that, not so long as she was so entirely occupied with affection for _Masaya.

o()o

And now here he was. Kish would never have been chosen to come to earth if he had not been a competent enough warrior that he could sense presences, so he was unsurprised when the woman appeared, seemingly from nowhere, into the room. He snapped instantly out of his reverie and held himself at the ready.

The witch-woman did not look at all like he had expected. From what he had learned of Earth culture, women with magical powers usually looked or dressed unusually to set themselves apart from the common people. This woman, though, would not have earned a second glance from passersby. She wore a simple brown sweater and dark slacks, her graying brown hair pulled up into a loose bun. Her face was equally unremarkable, although Kish couldn't put a name to the color of her eyes.

"I see you've found me," she stated simply, apparently unperturbed by Kish's inhuman appearance. "What is it that you desire?"

"I've been told that you grant wishes," Kish replied awkwardly, not really sure how to phrase his request.

"I suppose that's an accurate enough description, all things considered. But I know what I do. You did not come here to say what you have been told. Tell me, little alien, what is your wish?"

"There's a girl. I would do anything for her, but she can't stand me. She's so wrapped up in a disgusting _human_ boy that she resists whenever I try to show my affection for her."

"So, what exactly would you like me to do?"

"I want… I want her to forget about that human boy. I want to be the one she's devoted to. Not him."

The woman smiled knowingly at him, then turned around and took a tiny chest out of a cupboard that Kish wasn't sure had been there a moment ago. She turned to him and opened the chest. Inside on a cushion was a minute bottle of what looked like perfume. The woman took the bottle and gave it to Kish.

"Next time you see this girl, spray this into your mouth and give her a kiss. She'll forget her boy and come to depend on you. That is what you desire, yes?"

"Yes…" the alien replied hesitantly. "What are you charging for this?"

"Nothing. I can see that you doubt it will work. When you see what my potion can do, you can decide how to repay me. Destiny is yours alone, little alien."

o()o

Kish knew enough of Mew Ichigo's habits to know not only when she was at school, but where she was at any given moment of the school day. The day after his visit to the witch-woman dawned sunny and warm, so he went to her when he knew she would be outside eating lunch. She sat in a rather secluded part of the schoolyard with the two other Mews that attended her school, and as Kish watched her from a nearby tree, he knew it was unlikely that he would get a better chance than this.

Taking one last look to make sure no regular humans could see him, he sprayed a little bit of the witch-woman's potion into his mouth and jumped down from the tree. He was almost on top of Ichigo when he kissed her, hard and strong. The potion made his mouth tingle, and he could feel Ichigo's lips yielding to him.

Kish reluctantly broke the kiss, hoping to see the change steal over Ichigo's face. Instead, her wide brown eyes held the familiar mixture of shock, anger, and disgust the wretched girl displayed every time he tried to show her how he felt.

The three girls transformed into their Mew forms and began firing attacks at him. Kish had no choice but to retreat, saddened that this attempt to win Ichigo over hadn't worked, either.

o()o

Deep Blue had decided that Kish and his fellows should cease attacking for a few days, to lull the Mews into a false sense of security, as well as to have time to prepare for their next offensive. That was fine with Kish. He didn't need to attack anyone. He just needed to see Mew Ichigo again, even if he wasn't allowed to make contact for fear that the girl would see it as hostile.

"Are you going to see your little _human_ girl again?" Taruto asked scornfully as Kish prepared to go down to earth.

"Yes. What's the problem?"

"Deep Blue said not to attack the Mew Mews for a while. That pink-haired Mew thinks you're attacking her if you so much as _look_ her way. You're so stupid for caring about a human girl."

"…" Kish could think of nothing to say that would not be considered an insult to his leader, and no doubt that Taruto would happily tell Deep Blue if Kish uttered a word against him. Not that he cared what Deep Blue thought of him, but he didn't want to deal with his leader's displeasure right now. He settled instead for sneering wordlessly at the shorter alien before turning on his heel and stalking out of the base.

o()o

It was Saturday. Usually, Kish knew, Mew Ichigo worked her weekends away at Café Mew Mew. It was a hard place for Kish to stake out, as he didn't exactly blend in to the café's pink outer walls the way he could in foliage. The best he could do was the occasional surreptitious glance through the glazed windows.

As he tried to steal a better look at her, she noticed him. Her eyes widened and she hurried back into the café's kitchen, out of his view.

He was leaving, rather than risk another beating at the hands of Mew Ichigo and her worthless friends at a time when he really wasn't prepared to fight.

"Kish!" from the sky, he looked down to see Mew Ichigo, in her civilian clothes, waving at him to come down. He did so, quickly and unhesitantly.

"Hi, Kitten."

"It was… really nice seeing you here, Kish," Ichigo told him demurely, her eyelids lowered. "I'd like it if you would come back some time to see me again."

Kish was stunned. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming. For what else could merit such a complete reversal of Mew Ichigo's attitude? Then he remembered the potion, and his eyes widened in realization.

He didn't have much time to dwell on it, though, because Ichigo was still standing next to him, quietly. It was hard for him to ignore her presence, especially when she was standing so deliciously close to him of her own free will.

Nor was he subtle. He could sense by the tone of her aura that she was his, utterly and completely. Still, the pessimist in him worried that this was too good to be true, that it had to be some new devious trick the damned Mews had cooked up to stop him from saving this lost planet.

For someone like Kish, there was only one plausible way to test the verity of Ichigo's abrupt change. He kissed her, the same way he always did, hard enough to continue in spite of any resistance she cared to put up. But this time there was no resistance, so the kiss continued. Kish's lips were clumsy with inexperience, but Mew Ichigo didn't seem to mind. She willingly parted her lips to allow his tongue into her mouth, but took no initiative herself, other than leaning lightly against him, as if not wanting to scare him off by being too forward.

For Kish, it was a dream come true. If he _had _dreamed her, Mew Ichigo would be just as she was at this moment: loving and quiet and utterly devoted to him. But he knew there was work to be done, and Deep Blue was not likely to forgive his abandoning his mission for something as entirely frivolous as the seduction of a human female.

With this in mind, he slowly pulled back from Mew Ichigo, pressing one more soft kiss to her lips as an apology. She just stood, silent but smiling warmly up at him.

"You should go back inside, Kitten," he told her, his voice tinged with regret. "Those… _friends_ of yours will be missing you."

She nodded slowly by way of reply. "Yeah… you're right, Kish-chan…" she trailed off for a moment. "When will I see you again?"

"Any time you want. Just call for me and I'll come find you, Kitten. I know where you hang out most days, anyway. Really, go back inside. I don't think the rest of your little group would enjoy finding me out here."

With another slow nod, Ichigo made her way back to the café's rear door, and Kish floated back to his ship, happier than he'd been since he met her.

o()o

All in all, Kish considered it lucky that Deep Blue had ordered a temporary ceasefire. For one thing, he was able to spend his free time with Mew Ichigo. Mostly they just spent their time together in the park, but she was willing to tag along for any activities Kish wanted, so they'd also spent some time at the Tokyo Zoo. One of the things that made Kish the most vindictively happy about Mew Ichigo's new attitude was that she was so glad just to be with him, she didn't even realize that he was scoping out potential new Chimera Animas to send against her friends.

That was the other reason Kish was thankful for the ceasefire: As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't want to attack Tokyo Mew Mew. Oh, of course he would gladly kill those four girls, but his Ichigo was also a Mew, and he worried that if he attacked her friends, she would go back to hating him and the time they'd spent together would be gone.

Still, Kish's life on his harsh home planet had taught him to live in the moment. He was able, for the most part, to shove his worries to the back of his mind and concentrate on the present. And the present was: he had Mew Ichigo. She never mentioned that simpering human boy, just the way he preferred.

o()o

The ceasefire couldn't last forever, though, and eventually Kish had to renew his attacks. It was late at night, about two weeks after his meeting wit Ichigo outside the café. This particular Chimera Anima had once been some sort of small bear, but it had grown to gigantic, monstrous proportions and was now capable of emitting blinding flashes of light from the yellow markings on its dark body.

The Mew Mews showed up to fight him, as predictably as ever. Although he was skilled enough this time to avoid taking much damage to his person, his Chimera Anima was getting badly beaten. All it would take now was a finish attack from Mew Ichigo and the damned thing would turn back into a bear.

The four other members of Tokyo Mew Mew looked at their leader and waited for her to take the Chimera Anima down, but Mew Ichigo just stood there, looking confused and scared.

"Kish-chan," she asked tremulously, "What should I do?"

Her fellow Mews looked at her in shock, but Kish, ever the tactician, smiled slyly.

"Don't attack it, Ichigo. I want you to leave it alone." She nodded in that empty way she had developed and detransformed.

"Ichigo! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" The purple-haired mew shouted. Then, "Dammit!" as she barely dodged a blast from the Chimera Anima. Kish was grimly pleased, watching the battle. The potion had worked better than he had even hoped, if she was willing to listen to him when her friends' lives were in very real danger. Kish knew that without Ichigo, the other Mew Mews didn't have the power to destroy his Chimera Animas. Now, it was just a matter of finishing them off.

Suddenly, though, the Chimera Anima was cleaved in two with an almost audible slash. The fuzzy little… thing that followed Mew Ichigo around quickly gulped the virus up, and all that was left was a small, dazed bear.

Standing next to the bear, however…

He called himself the Blue Knight, Kish recalled. Even though he seemed to be of Kish's race, he fought with the _humans_. And he had destroyed Kish's Chimera Anima just when things had been going so well. He would pay.

The Blue Knight strode over to Mew Ichigo, looking concerned.

"Ichigo, what happened? Why didn't you destroy that monster when you had the chance? Are you all right?"

Even from where he was, meters away, Kish could tell that Ichigo was turning to look his way, as if wanting _him_ to answer the Knight's worried questions.

"Come here, Kitten." The gentleness Kish was trying to inject into his voice couldn't quite cover his rather perverse glee. Nonetheless, Mew Ichigo, who appeared not to notice Kish's dangerous tone, walked surely to the alien's side.

Glorying in the horror displayed prominently on the face of the Blue Knight and the other Mew Mews, he kissed Ichigo as smoothly as seductively as he could. She was as submissive as ever, and the joy Kish got from possessing her was compounded by the feelings of betrayal emanating from her comrades.

The Blue Knight's eyes filled with angry tears and he abruptly disappeared. The Mew Mews, led by the purple-haired one who had yelled at Mew Ichigo earlier, walked away into the night. When Kish was alone with Ichigo, he kissed the top of her head and sent her on her way.

o()o

"_What's _wrong_ with you, Ichigo!? How the hell could you do that to us?" _

_Ichigo sat quietly in the back room of the café and listened to her friends accost her. She wanted to ask Kish-chan why they were so confused and angry with her, but he wasn't here right now. The very thought made tears come to her eyes._

_Retasu, thinking Ichigo was teary-eyed because of the abuse she was taking from Minto and Zakuro, put a comforting arm around the pink-haired girl's shoulder._

"_What's that monster done to you, Ichigo? I know you can't really love him. Don't worry, we're your friends. We won't let Kish hurt you any more." Retasu's soft, misplaced assurances only made Ichigo start crying in earnest._

_While Ichigo sobbed, oblivious to Retasu's comforting and Purin's attempts to make her smile again, Ryou entered the room, his normally pale face livid._

"_Do you really love him, Ichigo?" The blonde boy asked curtly. Ichigo, her eyes still liquid, nodded. Ryou let out a hiss of breath and ran an irate hand through his hair._

"_Could you still take him down, if the fate of the world depended on it?" Ryou's question was more urgent this time, and there was an undercurrent of anger in his voice that made tears start trailing down Ichigo's cheeks again._

"_How could you even ask that? I… I don't know. I'm so confused. I need to talk to Kish-chan—"_

_Ryou's eyes blazed at the mention of the alien's name._

"_You know what Ichigo? Screw you. Get out of here. You're no longer a part of this team. We don't need you any more." Ryou's eyes were on fire now, and his voice contained an odd cocktail of hurt and anger and hatred and futile love. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room._

_The Mew Mews stayed behind, shocked. None of them dared speak to Ichigo until Retasu broke the silence._

"_He… he didn't mean it, Ichigo. You know what he's like when he gets mad. Just wait until he has some time to cool down, and we can work this whole thing out…"_

_Ichigo couldn't take the pity in the green-haired girl's voice. She wrenched herself out of Retasu's embrace and left the café as fast as she could. Kish had told her the others would never accept her. She hadn't wanted to believe him, but he was right._

_He was always right._

o()o

Somehow, even with Mew Ichigo gone, Kish kept being beaten by Tokyo Mew Mew. It seemed to him that something had happened to the blue-haired one, who now had finish attacks just like Ichigo used to.

He spent almost all of his time with Mew Ichigo now, when he wasn't fighting the remnants of Tokyo Mew Mew. He wished he could have cultivated Mew Ichigo as a weapon against her former allies, but the two found that she was now unable to assume her Mew form.

It was no real matter, though. Although Tokyo Mew Mew still managed to fight off his Chimera Animas, Deep Blue was getting stronger by the day. Soon Deep Blue would awaken, and Kish would be there, a conquering hero, a savior of his race. And he'd have the most beautiful human girl he'd ever seen there by his side the whole time.

Kish stole through the night to the window where he knew Masaya was sleeping. Mew Ichigo was his, he knew she was, but he also realized, in a deeply-hidden part of him that he tried his best to ignore, that Ichigo's affection was caused by that witch-woman's potion, and Ichigo probably didn't really love him any more than she ever did.

Kish was used to getting what he wanted. He'd gotten Mew Ichigo, originally thought to be unattainable, with very little difficulty. But he didn't want there to be any possible rival for Ichigo's affections. That meant that little milquetoast Masaya had to go.

o()o

The best way Kish could think of to dispose of the boy was to steal his spirit and use it in a Chimera Anima. With any luck, Tokyo Mew Mew would hesitate before attacking someone with such a strong connection to their former leader, and he sensed that Masaya's spirit was unusually strong for a human. He'd make a perfect Chimera Anima.

Kish began removing Masaya's spirit, but was immediately caught in some sort of energy backlash. Blue lightning struck him hard in the chest, and he flew backwards into a wall with a muffled "Ungh!"

"That was very foolish, Kish." The green-haired alien recognized the voice, but since he'd never really seen his leader, it took him a moment to realize the man in front of him was Deep Blue.

"So you were that simpering little human my Kitten used to love?"

Deep Blue just laughed at Kish's question. "He was my host. He was not _me._ As though I would ever love a human girl. _I _am better than that, Kish." He laughed again, and Kish rankled at the derision. He snarled softly and opened his mouth to retort, but Deep Blue held up a hand. "Come. We need to visit the park. Contact Pai and Taruto."

o()o

_Minto Aizawa sat up in bed when she heard Masha screech._

"_What's wrong? Is there a Chimera Anima?" she asked, irate. Masha continued to sound, louder than the bird-girl had ever heard before._

"_Oh, crap, it must be big. I'd better alert the others. Mew Mew Mint, metamorphosis!" There was a flash of blue light, and Mew Mint flew out her bedroom window to find her teammates._

o()o

Energy of all colors flew through the air as Kish, Deep Blue, and the rest of the aliens were engaged in their own private Ragnarok against the members of Tokyo Mew Mew. Both sides fought viciously to keep a hold on the planet they loved, but Deep Blue's presence put the odds cleanly on the aliens' side.

o()o

_Ichigo's sense of danger had dulled since she stopped being a Mew Mew, but it returned now in full force. _

Someone she loved was in danger.

_She immediately thought of Kish-chan, and paled. If Tokyo Mew Mew was hurting him… She didn't know what she'd do. They were her friends, yes, but she loved the alien with all of her self. _

_Her next movement was purely reflexive. Someone she loved was in danger. She couldn't tell who, but, then, it would probably be so much clearer for Mew Ichigo._

"_Mew Mew Strawberry Metamorphosis!" Even as she said the words, she remembered that she _wasn't _Mew Ichigo any more, that she had given up that part of her life to be with the man she loved._

_Some parts of a person never really die, though. There was a flash of pink light, and Ichigo was suddenly dressed in her full Mew Mew uniform. Trying not to give her newly-regained ability too much thought, lest it vanish, she hurried to the park, where she sensed the danger was coming from._

o()o

Mew Ichigo arrived at the park just in time to see the other Mew Mews fall under the aliens' attacks. She was worried for them, but she was more relieved to see that Kish was okay.

Just as he was moving in for the kill, Deep Blue noticed Ichigo's presence, and, smiling predatorily, turned to face her.

"So. The last member of Tokyo Mew Mew has finally arrived. Pai, finish off the others while I take care of this little one." He ran at her with his sword, the Blue Knight's sword, now stained with the mingled blood of her friends.

"Strawberry Ribbon Check!" Deep Blue easily dodged the girl's attack and struck out at her with his own magic. She cried out and fell to one knee.

"Ichigo!" Mew Mint's shout of concern surprised the other Mew Mews, who had not heard the bird-girl speak of their former leader in weeks. "Dammit, if you've hurt her—"

"Then what?" Pai asked laconically, sliding easily into position between the Mew Mews and Ichigo. "I don't think you're in any position to be helping your little friend." The alien grinned toothily and flipped his fan open. "Windy thunder fan!"

Before long, the four remaining members of Tokyo Mew Mew fell before his assult.

o()o

Deep Blue moved in to finish off the girl that his host had loved. He could feel the boy stirring in his mind, but any danger from the worthless human boy would die when this pink-haired female did. Azure lightning crackled along the blade of his sword as he leveled it for the killing blow.

The leader of the aliens was only half-surprised when Kish interposed himself between Mew Ichigo and her fate. The green-haired alien snarled, his swords held out to his sides to protect the fallen girl.

"Leave her alone. She's not like the other humans. She's _mine_!" Deep Blue just laughed.

"And what does it matter if she belongs to you? You'll never be able to live on this planet. So impure… It needs to be destroyed."

"You—!" Kish couldn't dredge up an epithet vile enough to describe this monster who would destroy, without a thought, not only the girl he loved, but the planet he had dreamed of and fought for his whole life. "No! You can't destroy my Kitten, and you can't destroy this planet! I'll—I'll kill you myself if you try!"

Deep Blue didn't deign to reply, but instead swung his blade at Kish's head. Kish parried with one of his own swords, but the monster with the body of Masaya Aoyama was already preparing for another strike.

Kish let out a gasping exhalation as the thing he had called leader's sword cut deep into the side of his chest. He could feel at least one of his ribs crack under the tremendous pressure, but he stood of shakily and lunged at his foe.

Deep Blue was fast and strong, and as the battle wore on, Kish was finding it harder and harder to keep going. Every breath was an explosion of pain as his lungs pressed laboriously against his broken ribs, and he couldn't tell if Mew Ichigo was even breathing any more.

The thought that his Kitten might have been killed by this thing gave Kish a burst of strength. He feinted with one of his swords, then lashed out quickly with the other. As Kish's steel flew past Deep Blue's face, a cut appeared across the latter's cheek, beginning almost immediately to weep dark sapphire blood.

Deep Blue's eyes blazed as he raised a hand to touch his wet cheek, and his lips worked themselves into a sneer as he thrust out with his blade, faster than Kish's eyes could follow.

Kish's abdomen exploded with pain, as Deep Blue pulled his sword from Kish's belly. The green-haired alien collapsed onto the grass, biting his tongue to keep from crying out. Deep Blue, still sneering, wiped his bloody blade on Kish's prostrate form and turned to face Ichigo.

o()o

_Masaya Aoyama, chained within his own mind, was roused out of despairing apathy when he observed hazily, of out eyes he could no longer control, Mew Ichigo, lying weak and bloodied on the ground._

Ichigo!_ Masaya thought desperately, trying his hardest now to throw off his mental shackles. _I have to save her!_ In the visible world, Deep Blue paused for a moment, a pained look passing across his face. Masaya, sensing that victory was near, redoubled his efforts._

"_You… you're not Masaya…" Ichigo rasped out in a slow, pained voice, and Masaya's heart leapt as she said his name. His vision cleared for a second as he regained control, but Deep Blue managed to push him back. Ichigo reached a up a hand in supplication, but her gaze traveled past teh possessed boy to the green-haired body that lay broken on the ground behind him._

"_Kish—!" Her gasp of surprise turned into a cough that sent tiny droplets of blood splashing onto the ground. "Kish-chan is… dead… I can't… I loved him—! I hate you," she intoned weakly, her eyes reaching straight through Deep Blue to the human boy behind his eyes. "Kish-chan…"_

_Masaya was shocked and sad and angry. His mind, already under a great deal of stress from Deep Blue, couldn't wrap itself around Ichigo's words. _I… don't want to be part of a world like this… _he thought detachedly as his will to fight died away and his mind slipped back into dormancy. Ichigo didn't care about him, so he couldn't care about the world any more._

o()o

Deep Blue, finally free of the damned boy's interference, leaned down and loped Mew Ichigo's head off.


End file.
